Chop Your Own Campfire Wood

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We started chopping our own wood around here.

Let me preface by saying that we have campfires nearly every cold night of the year that we’re in the Airstream, if they’re allowed where we’re staying. Between our occasional cabin and house rentals, I’d estimate that’s around 180 fires a year.

With a bundle of wood costing on average $5 depending on where you buy it, and enough wood for one night’s fire being about two bundles for an adequate, four hour fire, that tallies up to around $1,800 / year spent on campfires alone.

It takes me around an hour to produce four bundles of wood. That includes finding and dragging s dead trunk out of the forest, chopping it into smaller sections with an ax, and then further splitting those sections into useable pieces of firewood. Essentially, I’m creating $20 worth of wood in an hour. With time (or a chainsaw), I could increase that production level, but a chainsaw also adds the cost of fuel and the act of chopping wood must certainly be one of the more healthy activities one can do (provided you don’t chop your foot off).

Aside from the cardio and bicep benefits, there is something calming and meditative about swinging an ax up and down into hardened wood, watching it split, or removing a stuck ax head.

Monetarily, while I am saving money, I could technically work my job for an hour and make more than I am saving with chopping my own wood. But when it comes to being responsible for your own existence, to making your way not buying it, as long as it’s realistic I will strive to create my own firewood from here on out.

Published: November 12, 2014

Nathan is the Editor-in-Chief around these parts, and has been traveling by train, bike, VW Bus and Airstream since 2008. He's on Instagram.